Lost In The Storm
by Maegrambaiel
Summary: Legolas loses his two young daughters in a storm and desperately tries to track them down before anything happens. Mpreg.
1. Strawberry Jelly and Rhubarb

The day of King Elessar's coronation was such a happy day for all; all except one.

One lone figure stood apart from the rest of the celebrators, hidden in a dark corner of the party room as the rest of Gondor and the fellowship enjoyed themselves.

He leaned back against the cold stone wall, his arms subconsciously resting against his still flat stomach as he allowed his mind to wander back to when the whole mess first started.

_It was two years before the business with the ring had even come up, and he, Legolas of Mirkwood, had arrived in Rivendell on behalf of his father._

_There had been some petty matter that was quickly dealt with and he found himself with two weeks spare to wander the large city._

_It was during these two weeks that he first met the human known as Estel._

Legolas suddenly snapped out of that particular memory and his blond head shook softly, chiding himself still for what had occurred during those two weeks. It had been so unlike him; taking to a stranger that quickly, and a human no less!

But he could never go as far as saying he regretted those two weeks, the short affair had seen him returning to Mirkwood unknowingly carrying the eldest of his two children.

Legolas smiled sadly to himself as he thought of his little girl; Daetria. She'd be two now and he couldn't _wait_ to see her again. She'd only been a year old when he was forced to set off for Rivendell, leaving the baby girl in the care of her grandfather Thranduil.

He pushed himself away from the cold wall and headed outside, resting lightly on a bench located next to a beautiful patch of flowers.

"Must you leave so soon?" Legolas' heart froze as he heard the voice he had been both dreading and missing.

"I miss my home." He forced the simple statement through clenched teeth, his emotionless blue eyes staring straight in front of him stubbornly as he refused to face the one beside him.

This reaction doesn't go unnoticed by Aragorn as he settled himself down next to his old friend, his brow wrinkled up in concern and confusion.

"Legolas? What is wrong?" The new king leant forward slightly to better view the face firmly turned away from his.

"Nothing is wrong!" The elf spat out, before leaping up and storming towards the garden.

Aragorn merely sighed tiredly and shook his head at the prince's sudden disappearance. He spied another elf making their way toward him, and the concern in his eyes was replaced by a grin.

"Ah, my beautiful Arwen!" As Aragorn sung out, Legolas paused in his step; he hadn't journeyed far enough into the garden for the words to escape him. On hearing the human's delighted cry his face scrunched up in heartbreak, his thin body shaking with suppressed sobs as his arms once again wrapped around the barely noticeable bump in his stomach.

_Eight years later_

"Ada. Ada! Look what Rylie did!"

Legolas was pulled from his thoughts as he turned towards the voice; his face lit up in a fond smile as his sparkling blue eyes took in the sight before him.

The bright face of a young child was turned towards him in indignation, the ten year old girl was known as Princess Daetria Legolasiel, and she was set to rule Mirkwood after her daddy and her granddaddy.

Legolas found himself holding back the gasp that always followed whenever he turned to his eldest daughter; the face of his former lover stared back at him through the half elven child. She even had the same stormy grey eyes, though the long golden locks were definitely inherited from her elven father.

He then looked to the younger of his girls, the one he had just begun to carry when the quest was ended. She was seven now and the messy brown hair common to the human that had sired both her and her sister framed the face and eyes passed down from her elven ada.

This very face was now half covered in strawberry jelly, along with her sister and the rest of the room, and was smiling up at him innocently.

"Now Rylianna," Legolas leant down to the elfling's height as he attempted to chastise his little darling "how did you manage to get everything, including yourself, covered in strawberry jelly in such a short time?"

"It was Rhubarb!" The young girl announced cheerfully, the disbelieving sigh from her ada seeming to have no affect on her.

Legolas nodded slowly at this answer. "Yes, I'm sure it was." He ushered the two girls towards the bathroom as he recalled Rhubarb; the imaginary friend that had first been thought up by Rylie when the girl was only two.

"Now you two behave and get cleaned up quickly, do not forget we are to leave for Rivendell before too long!"

At this reminder both girls squealed excitedly and ran ahead of their father, eager to be ready as fast as possible.

Legolas had always made it a point for the two girls to get to know Elrond and the twins, although the reason behind this was only known by Legolas, his father and the Rivendell Lord himself; Legolas had always taken care not to make it _too_ obvious that he wished for the girls to know their uncles and other grandfather.

As he returned to the dining room he found himself wondering, as he had many times before, what might have happened had he handled things differently.

"Why did I not just tell him from the start?" He mumbled to himself sadly, so caught up in this depressing question that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching from behind.

"And what then, my son?" A familiar voice interrupted. "Would you and the girls have lived with him in the human city?" Legolas stiffened at the unexpected response from his father, remaining silent as he fought to keep the tears from spilling over.

"He is a human and you shall one day lose him, and your daughters as well if they grow too fond of the human way!"

Legolas gasped, this last statement stabbing through him like ice.

"I...no. I cannot lose them, they are all I have!" His voice sounded broken and low as he lost the battle against his emotions, tears streaming freely down his pale cheeks.

"Then this is how things must be, if you do not wish to lose the girls."

With this Thranduil turned and left his son alone; he hated to be this harsh, but he was familiar with the pain of losing a child.

Legolas slid down into a nearby chair, managing to get the sobs under control before the door opened again and a servant informed him everything was ready for departure.


	2. Rainy Night

"Come on girls, we must get moving." Legolas frowned as he looked up at the darkening sky. 'A storm is on its way...Not good.' As usual he was pulled from his thoughts, this time by a soft whimper. He looked down at the horse he was seated on and found himself looking at the younger of his daughters perched in front of him; small fingers stuck firmly in her delicately pointed ears.

"Do not yell so loud ada, I am right here!" The freckled seven year old complained, her cute button nose wrinkling up as the other members of the traveling party, Thranduil and Daetria, trotted up on their shared horse.

"Legolas we have only just left, are you sure we should not turn back until the storm has past?" Thranduil's gaze was also cast towards the sky in shared concern.

Legolas wrinkled his nose up in thought before climbing down from his horse. "I doubt we will need to go to that length, we shall just make camp here until it passes." He turned back to his horse as he answered his father, reaching up to lift his youngest child down.

The young girl let out a happy squeal; relieved to be off the horse. She ran around as the group set up camp and was quickly joined by her sister, the two girls beginning to play.

Legolas sighed with relief as he had finally unloaded all the horses before straightening up again, smiling fondly as he watched the girls play. Their fun game was soon interrupted as a particularly loud clap of thunder sent little Rylie diving into her father's arms. Legolas lifted her up into his arms and headed for their particular sleeping spots, keeping a firm hold on an equally spooked Daetria with his free arm as the wind began to pick up.

---

Rylianna frowned in her sleep, an odd sound dragging her from her dreams as her azure eyes fluttered open. It was dark now and raining heavily; and she couldn't seem to make out the tall figure of her father.

A few moments later a cross frown formed on Daetria's face as something nudged her none too gently in the ribs.

"Go away Rylie!" The blonde muttered grumpily in her sleep, rolling away from her sister's attempts to wake her.

"Daetria!" The annoying whine continued. "Daetria, ada is gone!"

This comment got the elder's attention and she sat up right, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Wha...?" The sleepiness was still evident in her voice as she scanned the dark slowly; discovering that not only was their ada gone, but so was everybody else.

Daetria pushed her blankets down and wriggled free from the makeshift bed, slowly pacing towards the center of camp with her younger sister clinging anxiously to her soaking nightgown.

"Daetria...I am afraid..." The younger of the sisters whimpered as the wind beat against them fiercely.

Daetria frowned, tapping her chin in thought before she smiled suddenly, snapping her thumb and forefinger together. "I have it!"

Rylie cheered up at this, tilting her head up towards her sister as she waited for what she was sure would be another great idea.

"We shall just have to dress, and then go looking for them!"

Rylie grinned at Daetria's decision; squealing out her approval before turning and running off towards their clothing.

"How about this one Ry-Ry?" Daetria used Rylianna's baby name as she held up yet another dress.

"No, want _this_ one!" Rylie replied for the tenth time. Her elder sister sighed in defeat before helping her into the glimmering blue dress that, in the blonde's opinion, had been the younger girl's favorite for entirely longer than appropriate.

However she had to admit that finding their father and grandfather was quite a high priority at that point and she rose stiffly; shaking out the ach from the awkward sitting position she had held for so long and smoothing out the wrinkles in her own forest green gown.

"Alright let's go, but hold onto my hand Ry-Ry; we do not need you getting lost as well!" Rylianna rolled her eyes at her sister's warning but did as instructed, before the two set off down a path that to the elder looked as if it had been traveled recently.

---

The servant sighed to himself as he returned to the camp, having left for a short break to relieve himself. The horses had spooked only thirty minutes earlier and everybody had hurried off to retrieve them, leaving only the disgruntled worker to watch over the sleeping princesses.

'Now where are those two...?' The elf muttered to himself as he approached the sleeping place of the two young girls. He stopped suddenly, gulping when he found their mats not only empty, but covered in clothing belonging to the two elflings.

"Uh oh..." He stuttered dully, a look of horror and dread on his face as he backed away. He looked around slowly, but did not turn in time to see the two trails of small foot prints heading in the direction from which he had just returned; the rain and mud filling the tracks up once more.

---

"My daughters are WHAT???" Legolas screamed at the servant, his normally pale face now red with anger. "You left my young children alone in a storm like _this?_"

"Sir, please forgive me!" The servant surrendered all dignity as he broke down in sobs; more afraid of losing his cushy job then the fate of the annoying brats he'd been left watching over more often than he could have liked.

Legolas was deaf to the pleas as he'd long since turned away. He leapt for his newly recovered horse, his eyes shinning with worry as a new fear drove through his heart; the worst of all his nightmares: 'Where are my little ones?'

With that thought he turned his horse to the North-east, hoping with all his heart that his daughters had merely decided to get a head start on their journey to Rivendell.

_"Why have you not told the human of his daughters?" Legolas looked up from watching three year old Daetria defend her favorite toy from her infant sister, smiling sadly at the look of confusion on his father's face._

_"They are so precious to me adar, I could not bare for them to be taken from me."_


	3. The River!

"'Tria."

"No!"

Pause. "But 'Tria.."

"Do not say it!"

Silence. "'Tria, we are lost."

The ten year old blonde rolled her eyes, completely exasperated as she turned to face her younger sister. "I said _not_ to say it!"

"But we are!" The seven year old reasoned simply.

The elder of the two sighed in defeat as she leant against a large rock, her head tilting down and becoming hidden by her long golden hair.

"'Tria?" That voice was getting to be _really_ annoying. "'Tria." There was a sudden tug at her sleeve.

"Are you _ever_ silent?!" Daetria snapped as she suddenly leapt to her feet and glared down at the younger girl. "But Daetria..." Rylie persisted determinedly.

"NO!" They were nose to nose now and Daetria's blood was _more_ than boiling over. Oh why hadn't they just stayed at the camp??

"Water." Rylie's quiet yet quick whisper made it past Daetria's protests and drew her attention instantly.

"What?" Daetria blinked down at her sister in confusion as this comment registered. "I hear water!" The seven year old was smiling now that she'd finally captured her sister's attention; the smile was a bit too smug for said sister's liking however.

"Oh...Right." Daetria groaned as she flipped her hair away from her face, before the sisters began to follow the now obvious sound of running water.

As they got closer the sound grew and grew, until it seemed to be thundering in their ears. Daetria missed this however as once they'd determined the right direction, she had busied herself with grumbling about the still damp dresses they were both clothed in.

"You would think these things would be dry by now!" Tria announced finally only to receive a blank, clueless look from her little sister.

"Huh?" The seven year old rubbed her button nose on the sleeve of her dress once she had pulled her sapphire gaze from the path through the trees.

"You are so...Urgh, just do not worry! Why do I even bother?!" Daetria grumbled to herself yet again. Rylie merely shrugged cheerfully, a goofy smile on her face as she looked back towards the path.

They stepped out from behind a gathering of trees and came to a stop, the sound of running water as loud now as it was going to get.

"Rylie..." Daetria gasped, her stormy grey eyes lighting up in realization as she gazed at the river before them.

"Yes!" Rylie threw her arms up and grinned as she answered her sister. She had no idea of the significance of the river; she just thought Daetria had finally decided to join in the fun game Rylie had been trying to play earlier.

"Ry-Ry, do you know what that is?!" Daetria pointed towards the river as she turned to her sister, excitement shining in her eyes.

"Um...A river?" Rylie scratched her head and frowned uncertainly, blinking from the wide river to her sister's eager face.

Daetria sighed slowly; gathering her frazzled patience before continuing in the extended explanation. "This is the river ada said we must cross!"

She smiling proudly at her ability to locate the river before breaking off and rolling her eyes, realizing the blank look on Rylie's face wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"You know...to get to Rivendell..." Still no luck. "Which is where we are traveling to."

Rylie frowned deeply before casting her gaze skyward and tapping her chin slowly, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. Daetria sighed yet again upon seeing this; this was her sister's 'thinking' face, and it could last a few hours. With that in mind Daetria spread herself out on the river bank, waiting for the sun to finally dry her dress out.

---

"Arwen?" Darn, he'd started _that_ again.

"Arwen?" She took a deep breath to calm herself, before plastering a fake smile on her face and turning to face her husband.

"What is it, _meleth nîn?_" She grimaced more than intended as she poured all her frustrations into that last word.

"Why do we have to be here?" Great, it was _that_ question again, like it was _her_ fault that things had turned out the way they did!

"You _know_ why Estel; I have told you exactly two hundred and eight three times." She hissed through clenched teeth in a very strained and eerie attempt at calm.

The man sighed as the black haired elf leant forward on the bench they had been resting on, starting to recite a long and detailed explanation for the two hundredth and eighty _fourth_ time.

**Aragorn's POV**

'Such a pretty tree!' "blah blah blah, miss my mother's people, blah blah blah" Tuning his wife's speech out once more he smiled at the pretty purple flowers that seemed to be leaning away from his wife. "blah blah blah, cannot have children, blah blah blah." Oh yay, she'd bought _that_ point up again. Aragorn didn't _mind_ that they didn't have kids as he really didn't know if he could handle anymore Arwens running around, but the elf seemed to blame _him_ for that, even though she'd refused further tests! He vaguely noticed his view jarring up and then down before suddenly remembering it was from learning sometime during the past two hundred something lectures when exactly to nod to avoid getting yelled at. Or even worse, a LONGER lecture!

He shuddered at this thought and it seemed to be well timed as the droning stopped and he tentatively raised his gaze once more to find his wife smiling happily at him.

"I knew you would feel the same as I on _that_ matter!" She announced happily, before Aragorn was suddenly enveloping in a smothering hug with her face buried in his shoulder. He blinked down at his wife's jet black hair in confusion for a few seconds before mentally shrugging and nodding empathetically, giving up on trying to understand the elf.

---

'They are only two little girls; they cannot have gotten too far away!' The frantic blond thought to himself for the hundredth time that morning.

"Daetria! Rylianna!" He threw caution to the wind as he screamed out their names. A near insane glimmer in his eyes as he hurried his horse around in squiggles and spirals, and then eventually circles, before coming to a complete stop and breaking down. His head lowered and covered in long golden strands that had come free from his braids sometime during his desperate search, his body shaking with silent sobs.

'Pull yourself together!' Shaking his head violently before sitting up again, a determined frown set on his face as he picked up the search once more.

Sapphire orbs that matched that of his youngest daughter scanning the forest floor meticulously for any sign of the elflings before gasping in relief and excitement as he noticed a trail of two small foot prints leading towards the river. He turned towards the great river and nudged his horse forward once more, the grim set of his mouth letting up slightly as he offered up a silent prayer that his daughters were unharmed.

---

Daetria shook her head slowly, a disbelieving smirk on her face as her sister prattled on about something. And it had open taken thirty minutes for Rylie to realize what Daetria was talking about this time!

On that thought Daetria looked down at her sister, indulging the excited girl with a warm smile, the blonde's mood dramatically enhanced now that her dress had dried.

"Yes Rylie, we are going to Rivendell!"


	4. Elf Or Demon?

"How about that one?" Aragorn looked over to the elfling pointed out by his wife and was unable to hold back the girlish squeal of fright at the menacing snarl on said child's face.

Turning to his wife he tried to maintain, or should I say _regain,_ a calm and considering air. He grabbed his wife by the elbow and dragged her away sharply; the look of shock returning to his now pale face as he hissed in what he hoped was a relatively quiet tone, even if they were surrounded by elves and their annoyingly sharp hearing.

"What are you _thinking??_" Arwen sighed at this, turning back to the child who now held the most angelic and adorable smile on her face. "Oh Estel please, you know how much I want children, and that little child is a darling!" Aragorn himself turned back to the child, the expression on his face clearly disbelieving as he leant towards his wife with a panicked whisper. "The child is evil; she would kill me in my sleep!!"

Arwen frowned at this, a disappointed look on her face and with a jolt Aragon suddenly recognized the looming lecture that usually resulted from disagreeing with his wife.

"I, uh…" Think Aragorn, _think!!_ "I like that one better!" Pointing suddenly in a random direction, his face paled even more when he realized what he was pointing at.

"Estel…" Arwen started patiently "that is my father; we cannot adopt my father." At Arwen's statement, the elven lord looked up from the scroll he had been peering at, a confused expression on his face as he tried to figure out why his only daughter was shaking her head slowly, while his foster son had a finger pointed towards him.

---

There was a sudden laughing to her right. A moment later a splash of water hit her and the laughing increased. The warm sun made her smile lazily as she turned towards the source of the laughing and splashing; her younger sister Rylianna. "Oh yes, very amusing." She scolded halfheartedly, before smirking and quickly diving forward to deliver a splash of her own.

"This was a great idea Tria!" Rylie grinned as she dipped her feet into the sparkling clear river.

"Yes, it was lucky this barge appeared!" She turned at this, flashing a cheerful grin at the sullen dwarf; he was most displeased at having two elves on board his barge but the little fiends had just leapt on of their own accord! Muttering irritably about this into his beard, he never noticed when the elflings made another leap, this time leaving the barge as they got near enough to the other side.

---

Elrond sighed as he rubbed his forehead slowly, the arguing voices of his two youngest children playing on the last of his nerves. Lifting his head up slowly, he fixed the bickering couple with his most famous and dreaded of glares. Instantly the arguing stopped.

"Now," Pacing forward slowly, trying to gather the very last of his patience "what is all of this about?"

---

"That was soooo much fun, can we go again?" Daetria rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh as she looked down at her sister. The younger of the Mirkwood princess' was currently bouncing around like some common dog, circling her elder sister one way before turning and circling in the opposite direction.

Daetria glared down at her sister in disapproval, determinedly continuing on in the hike as she dealt to her sister's questioning and pleading with one single word. "No." As simple as that, Daetria looked away from her sister and back at the path before them, her younger sister left to hurry after her like a sad puppy.

---

"Let me get this straight…" Elrond gathered his thoughts; all the information he had been given by Aragorn and Arwen, and tried to put it in a logical, easy to understand way. If that was at all possible. "You," pointing one hand at his daughter "want to have children. And you" pointing his other hand at the human he had taken in and raised himself "are opposed to the idea of adopting an elfling." The two before him nodded at this, and Elrond blinked slowly as he processed this.

"Now, this might sound like a ridiculous idea," He started pacing again as he presented the most logical solution he could think of "but have the two of you considered having your _own_ elflings?"

"He is unable!" Arwen cried out as she leapt forward, causing her father to look up in surprise. "He _is?_" Blinking slowly as this processed, before turning to his foster son. "Did the tests indicate any reason for this?"

Aragorn turned bright red under his father's scrutinizing stare.

"There were no tests," he mumbled reluctantly "Arwen is just unable to-" He was interrupted by a sharp hiss from his wife, and turning towards her he gulped at the pure fury visible.

"Ahh." Elrond grimaced at the scene before him. He caught sight of one of the new council scribes and hurrying after said scribe, pretending he had been called.

---

He stopped at the river, shaking his head in disbelief as he frantically tried to pick up the trail left by the two elflings. This was to no avail; the footprints left by his daughters disappeared into the river.

Legolas closed his eyes, subconsciously muttering yet another plea to the valar before leaping into the icy water, swimming determinedly with his eyes fixed on the opposite shore. All he had to go on now was the hope that his girls had found a safe way across the river, and that he would quickly catch up with them on the other side.

---

The grumpy old dwarf was on his return trip across the river when he spotted yet _another_ elf making their way across, this one bigger than the last two. The fact that this was an adult instead of a child didn't occur to the dwarf thinking seemed to hurt his head, and he always found it best to just steer clear of other creatures' altogether.

"Ruddy elf." He grumbled under his breath, before quickly pointing his barge in the opposite direction and floating away quickly before the elf could notice him.


	5. Into The Fire, Nearly

Step. Step. Step.

The solemn mantra was chanted in Ryliana's head as the young elfling forced her tired, sleep deprived body to continue the slow march.

Up ahead Daetria didn't seem to be any better off, and the long, blonde hair had long since matted with dirt and grime.

The girls had had little sleep, and even less food; being too wary of the gloomy, unfamiliar land and lacking the skills and equipment needed to catch or even prepare most meals.

The one saving factor had been the odd bush of berries they had stumbled across from time to time, and with an ingenious flash of forethought the young girls has eagerly stuffed their pockets full of the delicious berries.

After feasting (saving the stored berries for later) they had continued on their way, their mouths stained from blueberries and their teeth and tongues bright red from the strawberries.

They were deep in the forest now, and even Daetria had been forced to admit that they had crossed the river too early, and Imladris and its forests lay way, way downstream.

Unfortunately it had taken them a while to realize this, and Daetria was now busily cursing the late realization.

"If only…" She started tiredly, her words seeming to fall to the beat of Ryliana's internal chant "if only we had stayed near the river. We could have followed it down until we got to the Bruinen and _then_ go through the forest. And we'd have water to driiiiiink…and to _bathe_ in!" She scrunched her nose up at this, suddenly rubbing at the dirt and grime on her face and hands in a gesture that had become increasingly routine for her.

The slow march continued as Daetria became lost in her frantic attempts to clean herself.

Ryliana watched on in a kind of detached curiosity, the tired expression on her face brightening somewhat as she watched her sister's amusing antics. She had never understood her big sister's extreme aversion to dirt.

Sure, it was nice to get all clean and dry after playing in the mud, and Ryliana had always greatly loved swimming, being a water-baby at heart, but her sister had never even gotten as far as making a mud pie. And that time when Rylie had covered 'Tria's room (including 'Tria herself) in delicious honey after discovering it as a toddler…Rylie shuddered. It hadn't mattered the she had been a mere toddler, and had thought her actions would please her dear big sister; oh no, Daetria had been _furious,_ and kicked up a tantrum the likes of which only the eldest Legolasiel could achieve.

--

Had he been human, the Mirkwood prince would have been sniffling and shivering violently.

But he wasn't human, and so he wasn't doing anything of the kind, though he was still drenched to the bone and looking more like a half drowned Labrador than the eleven prince he was.

He paid no heed to this however, his face set in a look of pure determination as he searched the soft bank meticulously for any signs of his elflings.

Back and forth he paced, crouching low to the ground to inspect a promising looking indenture before dismissing the false lead with a sigh.

Where _were_ they?? He yelled to himself, a hiss escaping through his clenched teeth. They were too far up to reach Imladris this way, though he doubted the young girls would have picked up on the subtle difference between this river and the river it fed onto; the Bruinen.

"Is everything alright, mellon nîn?" A familiar voice asked, causing a flash of hope to run through the desperate prince. "You are far from Imladris…and heading in the wrong direction!"

--

Elrond sighed to himself as he wandered the outskirts of the lively valley hideaway.

He was relieved to have escaped his bickering children and was now making the most of the peace and tranquility, as something told him it wouldn't last long.

He let his mind drift idly as he stopped by a sparkling fountain; the remote fixture had always been a favorite thinking spot of his. Countless afternoons had been spent gazing into the hypnotic waters, allowing himself to imagine a very different, peaceful..._childless_ life.

A sudden cry and the pounding of hooves drew his attention instantly, his head snapping up as concerned grey eyes located the source of the disturbance.

It was a single horse. _Glorfindel's_ horse. And atop it was…the bloody form of Prince Legolas?

Elrond's brow furrowed in confusion; Prince Legolas wasn't supposed to arrive _this_ early…and where was the rest of his party?

He blinked…and gave a gasp of surprise as the horse and its' rider suddenly disappeared. What…?

"My lord? My lord!" Something was shaking him.

"Ada!" Make that some_one._

He forced his eyes open once more, oblivious to the look of disorientated confusion on his face.

"Ada did you see something?" The soft voice asked, concern clear as a hand reached up to rest on his arm. Definitely not Arwen then. "Was it a vision?" The worried voice pressed, as Elrond finally became aware of his son's presence.

"Yes Estel…" He muttered softly. "I had a vision…"

--

The berries were gone…

In retrospect stuffing their pockets with the juicy berries probably wasn't the best idea, as all they had now were stained pockets and handfuls of…well, _smoosh._

A frown started to form on Rylianna's face. It started out as a mere twitching of the eyebrows and gradually morphed into a full on, pouting frown.

"Daetria…" The tired, grubby and most importantly, _hungry_ princess began before she tilted her head slowly as a finishing touch to the look of blank confusion.

Daetria groaned to herself, spitting harshly as yet another lock of fine blond hair became entrapped in her parched mouth. "I know, I know!" She yelled, frustration clear in her voice as she forced herself forward, her grey eyes fixed on the dirt floor. "I know you're hungry, and tired, and bored, I am too! As well as being dirty…" She muttered this last sentence in a sullen, distraught voice, a near whimper escaping her lips as she tried not to think of the sweat and dirt currently covering her.

Princess Daetria Legolasiel of Mirkwood did _not_ like being dirty!

"Nooooo…" Her younger sister continued in her patented whine. "I just thought we should stop before we walk into the fire." Rylie explained in an annoyed tone, her feet taking her closer to said fire regardless of this little fact, as she _always_ followed her sister.

Daetria could be mean sometimes…well a lot of the times really, but her big sister sure knew a lot of things!

Daetria squealed at this, her head shooting up as she suddenly froze in place. Unfortunately this change of pace didn't make it to Rylie in time and Daetria let out an inevitable grunt as the two sisters fell to the ground just short of the fire.

Daetria gulped nervously as a shadow was cast over them. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A gruff voice grunted, in what Daetria could vaguely recognize as Westron.

She was starting to regret not paying attention during adan class…


	6. Arigone

AN: I am _so_ sorry it has taken this long for me to submit this chapter and I want to thank everybody who's hung in there...or even if ya haven't, thanks for reading! :D Uhm...I didn't do much proof-reading of this chapter so I sure hope there are no mistakes or anything in it, an' I already have another chapter in the works! :D

~Mae~

* * *

"Uh…" Daetria started hesitantly, recalling the horrifying stories her grandfather had told her of the dreadful things humans did to elves…especially _little_ elves!

Ryliana didn't have such qualms, however, and marched up to the scruffy human with a bright smile on her face. "Jello!" She announced cheerfully, her Westron not being _quite_ as good as that of her sister. "My name is Ryliana and I would like some food." She grinned proudly at this before gasping softly and quietly throwing another strange Westron word out. "Please!" There, that should do it, she thought to herself with satisfaction, turning towards her sister with a smug yet decidedly strange smile on her face.

Daetria was _horrified._ She simply stared at her sister for a few moments before the burning in her lungs reminded her to take a harsh breath.

This seemed to break the spell all three of them had been under (well, except for Rylie of course, who seemed at that moment to be more interested in how far up her nose she could cram her finger). She peered up at the adan, her face paling as she gulped quietly in anticipation of the horror sure to fall upon them.

She was most certainly _quite_ unprepared for the girlish squeal that issued from the human's lips as the man leapt up from his crouching position, dropped his pack and raced off into the forest, leaving food to fall to the forest floor.

"Well…" Daetria muttered slowly. "_That_ was unexpected…"

Rylie hummed in agreement, completely ignoring her sister as she picked up a fallen apple and stored it away in a berry stained pocket. "Guess he was scared of the bear." She mumbled absentmindedly as she tried to brush the dirt off a chunk of dried bread.

A chill raced down Daetria's spine, the icy cold of dread coming to pool in her stomach. "Huh?" She stammered stupidly, finding herself completely unable to move.

Her query was met by an excited squeal as the youngest Mirkwood princess suddenly spotted a flask of only slightly stale water. She eagerly gulped down a few mouthfuls before looking back to her sister. "Oh, it's okay!" She reassured the elder with a cheerful smile. "It's asleep!" She threw a hand out to point at the bear sleeping against a nearby log, forgetting about the open flask in her hand.

Daetria stood motionless, watching the water fly through the air towards the sleeping bear….that was odd, when had things started to move in slow motion?

She was snapped out of her shock as the bear gave a roar, sleepily trying to shake the water from its face before slowly pulling itself to its feet.

Daetria couldn't take her eyes off the giant bear and absentmindedly flailed an arm around, trying to get a hold of that hopeless sister of hers.

"Ow!" Rylie whined as 'Tria suddenly yanked at a strand of her hair, having been too distracted getting that tricky lid back on the flask to notice the now _non-_sleeping bear.

"Ry-Ry…" She looked up at this….well, as best she could as 'Tria was still pulling down on that section of her hair.

"Run!"

* * *

A lone rider raced from the valley town as if Saruman himself was on his heels. A strange, sickening feeling of both worry and desperation squeezed at the rider's heart tightly…please valar, let Legolas be alive!

* * *

"Rylie…" Daetria panted, her dress dripping wet once more and a nasty bruise starting to form over her left cheek bone. "Where are your shoes?" The youngest Legolasiel peered down at her grubby, mud-caked feet and shrugged, cheerfully biting into the apple she'd found. "I guess I musta lost them when we fell off that cliff." She mumbled, her mouth stuffed with juicy apple.

Daetria sighed and shook her head, tiredly forcing herself to keep walking. It'd been a miracle they'd fallen off that cliff, as strange as it sounds. There was no _way_ they would have been able to outrun the bear and by some amazing stroke of luck the cliff had been overhanging a river. The current had been strong though and the young elflings were dazed from the fall, so it had taken them far too long to drag themselves from the river.

Daetria frowned to herself as she stared up at the rapidly darkening sky. The river had taken them quite far down stream and she now _officially_ had no idea where on Arda they were!

They were truly lost now.

* * *

Legolas leapt to his feet, spinning around on the ball of one foot as he rose. "Glorfindel!" He gasped in relief, throwing his arms around the golden haired warrior before the other had time to react.

"They are gone!" Legolas muttered brokenly, relief quickly turning to despair as the prince's body shook with desperate sobs.

Glorfindel wrapped his arms around the wood elf automatically as he peered over Legolas' head, giving a helpless shrug as he spotted his second-in-command staring at them in confusion.

* * *

"Father!" A shrill, obnoxious voice called out to Elrond as he fought to suppress a shudder.

He blamed those Lothlórien elves…Arwen had been _such_ a sweet, pleasant girl before her stay with the 'tree house' elves.

"Yes, my dear daughter?" He asked with a strained patience as he turned towards his only daughter. _When_ had she decided to start calling him by the human term anyway?

"Father…" Arwen panted slightly as she caught up with the peredhil lord. "Have you seen Arigone?" She blurted out, fanning herself with one hand as she tried to steady her breath.

Elrond winced (inwardly of course!) as he ran his gaze over Arwen. Her cheeks were horribly flushed and there was what appeared to be a strange bruise just under her chin….if Elrond didn't know better he'd have sworn those were teeth marks on his only daughter's skin.

"First off, dear," he started, that legendary patience of his kicking into overdrive as it often did during conversations with his daughter. "His name is _Aragorn,_ not Arigone." He paused for a moment, hoping for some kind of dramatic reaction (he wasn't sure what exactly) but at the almost bored look on his daughter's face he gave up on that and continued on. "As to where he is…" Elrond haltered at his, his eyes lowering for a brief second as he frantically tried to come up with a plausible story. "He uh…went to look for more elflings!" He finished lamely, relief flooding him as he saw the believing smile on his little girl's face.

Well…it _was_ true after all, even if his oblivious foster-son didn't know it!


End file.
